Design - Pencil Holder

How to make a Pencil Holder with plaster

To make the pencil holder, you will need to gather the following materials:

- A ruler

- A roll of tape

- Around 3 sheets of polypropylene

- Pens/Pencils

- Scissors

- Liquid Watercolour (Colour of choice)

- 3 cups of plaster powder

- A cup

- A bowl or bucket

- A spatula or something to mix with

Grab your sheets of polypropylene and using a pen or pencil and ruler, draw a heptagon. Make each side of the heptagon 4CM. Once this is done, use a pen or pencil and ruler, draw 7 rectangles on another sheet of polypropylene, making the size 4CMx11CM. Once you are satisfied with each of your shapes, grab your scissors and cut the shapes out.

Once each of your shapes has been cut out (see the previous step), grab your roll of tape and tape each rectangle to each side of the heptagon. Once this has been done, fold up each rectangle (see image above) and tape them together, make sure to tape securely around the bottom too (to ensure no leaking, so make sure to check for any gaps).

For the core, you can use an old bottle, etc. However, if you would like to make a core out of polypropylene, grab your ruler, pen/pencil, and polypropylene and draw a 4cmX4cm square. Then, draw four 4cmX11cm rectangles on the polypropylene. Once you have drawn all your shapes and are satisfied with them, grab your scissors and cut each shape out. Once that is done, grab your roll of tape and tape each rectangle to each side of the square, after this, fold each rectangle up and tape them together. Make sure not to leave any gaps open and tape each part securely!

Grab your heptagon mould, core, cup, liquid watercolour, bucket/bowl, spatula, tape and plaster. Using your cup, measure out 3 cups of plaster, and put it in the bucket/bowl. Then, using your cup again, measure two cups of water, and put it in the same bucket/bowl with the plaster. Using your spatula/mixing tool, mix the mixture until there are no lumps. Then, grab your liquid watercolour (any colour of your preference) and add as much as you would like into you water-plaster mixture (the more you add, the darker it is). Once you have reached your desired colour, pour the mixture into your heptagon mould. Grab your roll of tape and core, and place your core about 3/4 way deep into the mould, and tape it in place. Then place it away and wait for it to dry for a few hours.

Remove your pencil holder from the mould, and remove the core as well. If your pencil holder has any bumps, is uneven or rough, (like mine, above) you can sand it down. Place whatever part needs to be sanded, facing down on the sanding board, and move it back and forth to sand it. Sand until you are happy with it.

After you have completed all the steps, this is what your final product should look like!